Tag Archives: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Vice Four, Virtue Zero

Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond

One of the highlights of Virginia’s great Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, is its tapestry hall. This particular 16th century Flemish tapestry is a fragment depicting the seven vices and was originally “balanced” by a similar work showing the seven virtues. Nowhere in the gallery, though, could I find the seven virtues. Little surprise, really. Who wants their vices diluted with virtues?  And yet, not all of the vices are shown, either. Extravagance and Envy are missing, which is understandable because they’re pretty lame vices. But probably the best vice, Gluttony, is somehow missing too (although Sloth, represented here by a lazy monkey runs a close second). Perhaps gluttony warranted its own tapestry or maybe it was simply too big to fit on this one. Some mysteries may never be solved.